Non-verbal feedback tools are helpful to elicit feedback and maintain student engagement during the session. Best of all, the use of these tools do not require any special settings changes or advance planning, so many of these can by used ‘on the fly.’
Zoom: Interaction and engagement with students
This page describes how Zoom's interactive features can be integrated into your teaching.
Zoom session structure
Every instructor will use Zoom according to their own needs and those of the students.
Use live Zoom sessions judiciously. The recommended maximum duration of a Zoom session is 40-60 minutes. Limiting the time on Zoom will help mitigate for students
- with internet connectivity issues
- who do not have an ideal home set-up for participating in the class
- who are living in a different time zone
- with disabilities
- with care-taking and/or other responsibilities
- Begin the session with an overview of the class because:
- Clarifying the learning goals helps increase student engagement
- Sharing your teaching purpose helps shape student expectations
- Do a warm-up activity to get students talking or using the chat or other interactive features. (Example warm up activities)
- If lecturing, divide your lecture into shorter segments (15 – 20 minutes maximum) and intersperse with student participation to maintain engagement. Plan for student interaction at regular intervals during the session at least every 5-7 minutes.
- Take advantage of the following features: chat, polling, breakout rooms, etc. (See Zoom Tools for Facilitating Interaction below.)
- Do a closing activity.
- This may include a summary, a check-in with students or a virtual minute paper.
Non-verbal feedback tools
These buttons can be found at the bottom on the Participants window (some may need to click more to see all available options).
When students click Raise Hand, their names will appear in your Participant list in the order that they raised their hand (descending) with the hand icon next to it.
How to use it in teaching:
It may be difficult to keep an eye on the Participant List all the time during a Zoom session, so you may want to pause every few minutes to invite questions and answer them in order.
When students click either the Yes or the No button, their response will appear beside their name in the Participant list.
How to use it in teaching:
This is an efficient way of getting feedback from students on the fly. You can use it ask yes/no-type questions that ask students:
- if they agree or disagree with certain statements, ideas, etc.
- if they want to discuss more examples or details on a topic or move on
- vote on a topic/problem to work on
- check conceptual understanding (this is probably the most powerful of all uses as it is a way to concept check on the fly without having to create poll questions in advance) For example: Does this example demonstrate..?/Does X theory apply in this case?/Do you think the variable will increase the output?
Go slower and Go faster buttons are to be used by students to signal the pacing of an activity, lecture, review, etc.
How to use it in teaching:
Since you won’t always have the usual visual cues as a face-to-face environment, this is a good way to get feedback from students on the pacing of the session. However, students may be shy to use these buttons without prompting, so consider asking them periodically to provide feedback on the pace.
Thumbs up/Thumbs down buttons are used to show agreement or disagreement with what is being said without interrupting the speaker.
How to use it in teaching:
You can encourage students to use these to show when they are in agreement or disagreement with what is being said in the moment by you or by their peers, and not just when prompted.
In order to get students using this feature, instructors are also encouraged to use this to model appropriate use.
Clapping is a visual gesture participants can make to thank, congratulate, acknowledge other participants or the host.
How to use it in teaching:
You can encourage students to use these to show when they wanted to emphasize the importance, bravery of or accomplishment (i.e. solving a difficult problem) related to what is being said in the moment by you or by their peers.
In order to get students using this feature, instructors are also encouraged to use this to model appropriate use.
Need a break signals a suggestion from a participant for a pause in the session.
How to use it in teaching:
The instructor should decide whether or not they want to elicit this feedback from students or not and make this clear at the beginning of the course. If you do, be prepared to take periodic breaks as requested by students.
Away signals that a participant has stepped away from the session briefly.
How to use it in teaching:
It is recommended that students signal to the class if they need to step away from their computer. This will alert the instructor not to call on the student or assign them to a breakout room until their return.
Polls
Instructors launch multiple-choice type questions for students to answer anonymously. Results can be optionally displayed to participants.
How to use polls in teaching
Polls are an effective way of increasing active participation in a Zoom session while also giving instructors feedback on student learning. Use Zoom Polls to check for prior knowledge when introducing a topic, confirm understanding of information from a reading or lecture, identify the key ideas from a lesson as a closure activity, etc. Other uses include (ungraded) diagnostic-type quizzes, reading quizzes and other concept-checking questions to help guide the day’s discussion.
Set up required to use polls: Poll questions can be added in advance of a session. Once the meeting has been created, access your meetings from the web browser interface (not the application on your computer), and click the scheduled meeting from the list of Meetings. Polls can be added at the very bottom of the Meeting page.
It is also possible to add poll questions once you have started the meeting.
Zoom support
Chat
The chat box can be a very powerful tool to elicit feedback and critically engage students during sessions. Because no microphone or video is required, it is an inclusive way of promoting engagement and participation in your session. An additional advantage of the chat is that not a single person holds the floor in a given moment, many students can be participating and engaging in responses at the same time.
How to use chat in teaching
The chat box can be used in several different ways.
- Pose questions: ask students to reply in a few words
- Ask students to summarize key concepts
- Summarize key takeaways from the readings/videos at the beginning session
- Post questions from the readings/videos at the beginning session
- Summarize key takeaways at the end of a session
- Ask questions
- Answer questions posed by other students
- Provide additional insights, examples or sources to what is being discussed in the moment.
In large classes, it may be difficult to follow the chat at all times. If you do not have a TA to help filed questions or flag relevant comments, do not feel shy to pause periodically to review the chat. For example, you can say, “I’m just going to take a moment to review the chat to see if there are any questions.”
Set up required to use chat: By default, chat is enabled for all participants, so no special settings changes are required.
Zoom support
Annotation tools
Annotation tools allow your students to markup the display screen, whether it’s the whiteboard or a slide that you have prepared for annotation. Annotation is another accessible way for students to participate without using mics or video. It is also a way to engage many students at the same time. Because it can also be done anonymously, students will feel less pressure to give the “correct” responses and be more likely to participate. For this reason, it is also ideal for discussing sensitive topics where students want to share thoughts, experiences and feelings anonymously.
Like many of the other interactive tools, instructors can integrate annotation interaction on the fly by “sharing” whiteboard at any time and inviting students to use the appropriate tool to respond.
Set up required to use Annotations tools: By default, the Annotation function is disabled, but it is possible to enable it in the Advanced settings. (For more information see Using Annotation Tools on a Shared Screen or Whiteboard).
In order for the Annotation tools to be enabled in a meeting, you have to be sharing your screen (for example a PowerPoint template) or a Whiteboard.
There are three main ways students can annotate on the screen.
With Text annotations, students add a text box to the slide or whiteboard on the screen anonymously.
How to use text annotation in your teaching
Here, you can post a question at the top of a slide or whiteboard (or in the chat) and invite students to add their answers. It is also ideal for brainstorming and problem solving. You can also ask students to write a word on a scale, timeline, rubric, or other graphic/template (see examples).
Tips
- If you have a large class, it may become cluttered, so pose questions that will elicit shorter answers, or ask students to rotate answering (by birthday month, for example) to limit the number of answers on one slide.
- The default font size for Annotation is quite large. Ask students to use the Format button to change the size of their text.
- Not all mobile devices have the option for adding text annotation. In this case, ask students to hand write using Draw or ask them to write in the chat box if they feel comfortable.
Using the draw button, students can draw on the screen using their finger or a stylus on a mobile device or a mouse on a laptop/desktop.
How to use draw in your teaching:
Students can use the draw feature to write answers instead of using text [especially those connected via mobile device]. You can also ask students to mark a scale, rubric, diagram, timeline, or other graphic or other template (see examples) with text.
Note
It can be awkward for people on desktop or laptops to draw with the mouse or trackpad, so this feature is most appropriate for those connected from a mobile device/tablet with a stylus.
Several icons are available under the Stamp menu item, including: and arrow, a checkmark, and “X”, a star, a heart and a question mark. Once a participant clicks the desired symbol, wherever they click next on the screen, the icon will appear.
How to use the stamp in your teaching
There are several ways stamps can be used as follows:
- to mark their feelings about text annotations (made by other students moments before) on the screen
- mark their feelings about a list of items on a PowerPoint slide created by the instructor
- in place of a poll to ask students which item(s) in a multiple-choice type question are correct
- add a stamp to mark a timeline, scale or other template (See examples)